Grow the Workforce Forum – Thinking outside the box to build a stronger workforce

The right workforce right now, and into the future?

You told us: We want to attract and recruit a diverse workforce. Together we said we will work with the skills ecosystem to develop resources and models to support diverse people into the sector and we will develop and deliver: A Grow our Own Workforce forum and resources

And so WorkUP Queensland is pleased to launch a suite of resources available to support the domestic and family violence, sexual assault and women’s health and wellbeing organisations to articulate and market the broad range of pathways into this sector.

The Grow the Workforce resources:

• detail the skills transferrable to our sector from across a variety of Community Services sectors, and
• feature a range of real stories from workers with diverse backgrounds to demonstrate the varied life and education/study journeys that can support and enhance work in the domestic and family violence, sexual assault and women’s health and wellbeing sector.

Join us for this launch where we will present the resources and explore practical ways to use them in your service, region and across the sector.

The forum will also feature two exciting guest speakers who will share their stories and ideas of outside the box strategies for recruitment and retention.

Maureen Frank will explore strategies the sector can use to build a staff that reflects community diversity and how this can create an inclusive service that benefits both clients and management.

Renee Williams will be discussing ways to recruit and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers using her experience in the Victorian Domestic and Family Violence sector to illustrate possible outcomes.

Who should attend

Anyone working in the sexual violence, women’s health and domestic and family violence sector.

About the facilitators

Maureen Frank

Maureen Frank, a diversity and inclusion expert with her ROI obsession has established over a dozen diversity councils in major organisations (most of which were the executive team), personally coached CEO’s on their journey and supported her client to achieve results, including supporting a number of organisations increase the number of women in senior leadership in record time: a telco (from 6% to 31% in 2 years), a mining company (from 8% to 23% in 2 years), a bank (from 11% to 33% in 3 years), a waste management business (from 8% to 19% in 1 year) and many more examples.

For more information please see the Emberin website.

Renee Williams Renee Williams is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman who paternal linkages are Bindal (Townsville, Qld) and Juru (Bowen, Qld) and paternal linkages to Wakka Wakka and Murray (Mer) and Darnley (Erub Islands the Far Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait).

Renee has a wealth of experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia. Renee has held various positions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations, peak organisations, research centres and not-for-profit organisations.

Renee most recently was the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council, the local government area for 3 Aboriginal and 2 Torres Strait Islanders communities in remote Far North Question. The position was to support the Elected Council and provide leadership and management with the operations of the Regional Council, enterprises and services for the communities of the Northern Peninsula Area.

Renee is also the Vice President and Director of AFL Cape York a position that she has held for over 5 years.

Renee has previously been the Chief Executive Officer of Boorndanwan Aboriginal Healing Service an Aboriginal specialist family violence service that works with victim, survivors and perpetrators. Renee transitioned the service to be an independent Aboriginal Community Control Service, including a restructure and building the profile of the service.

Renee has previously been the Executive Officer for Empowered Communities Cape York and led the empowerment stream of Pama Futures and was the Policy Manager with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).